Switzerland will follow France, Belgium and Austria after narrowly voting in a referendum to ban women from wearing the burqa or niqab in public spaces. Just over 51% of Swiss voters cast their ballots in favour of the initiative to ban people from covering their face completely on the street, in shops and restaurants. Muslim groups have criticised the ban.
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s trip to Davos, Switzerland next month will be most economical compared to his predecessors, the government claimed on Monday. Total expenditure of the three-day visit, in which the premier along with his delegation will attend annual World Economic Forum (WEF) summit, is estimated to be at $68,000. Previous governments spent lavishly on their visits to the Swiss city in comparison.
Switzerland has rejected Pakistan’s request to provide five years old tax information under the Automatic Exchange of Information. The bank accounts’ information that Switzerland will share in September 2021, will pertain to the accounts positions for the calendar year 2020. Since Pakistan’s demand had no legal justification, the Swiss authorities have informed that they cannot provide any information before January 2019 period.